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Successes and failures of the french revolution
Problems of french revolution
Problems of french revolution
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Successes and failures of the french revolution
Problems of french revolution
Problems of french revolution
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
French Revolution “The children are terribly ragged…the lack of bread is terrible... the price of bread has risen above people's ability to pay...feudal dues are crushing us.” (Document 1) Arthur Young gives a vivid image on what life was like for the third estate in France. The French Revolution occured around the same time as the American Revolution.
By the late eighteenth century, France a country full of tension divided into three estates was on the brink of revolution. In the 17 to the 18 century the despiteful villages of France had no clemency from the nobles or clergy. It was disastrous for the peseants when they paid the immence levy. The absolute monarchy meant nobles had complete authority over peasants. In addition the enlightenment thinkers, Voltaire, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Montesquieu and more encourage change which lead to the French revolution.
The Causes and Effects of The French Revolution “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles.” -Jean Jacques Rousseau Imagine being a peasant of the third estate in the French Revolution era. How would you feel being taxed a lot more than the others estates, just because of some “title”? Or being treated unfair because you couldn’t read well, or you weren’t wealthy enough? Well, that’s what life was like for the peasants.
Imagine a country of rigid hierarchy, and restricted rights, brimming with conflict, and chaos to come. This was Pre-Revolution France. The French Revolution was brought on by the French people’s desire for equality and liberty for all estates, and their anger at the current monarch King Louis the 16th. It was largely influenced by the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with some of the main goals being equality, freedom, and ending feudalism. Feudalism was a social system, widely used in pre-revolution France, where peasants worked for the lords in exchange for land and protection.
The French Revolution was a drastic time for the people of France. In 1789, the majority of people were living in poverty and dealing with terrible conditions. People were split into three estates: the first, second, and third, the first being the wealthiest. Political, economic, and social situations were what contributed to people’s desire for change. The three main, or biggest causes of the French Revolution, were taxes, inequality, and lack of reform.
The French Revolution was a time of radical and social upheaval. Conditions in France both economically and politically caused much discontent among the people of the Third Estate. Which not only included peasants but during this time was made up of everyone that wasn’t a noble or of king-like status, such as merchants, artisans, and the middle class (bourgeoisie). After the Enlightenment, the people of France began to question their government and society. Especially the people of higher class in the Third Estate.
The stasis within the social classes after the revolution was beneficial to society. “One class did not overthrow another; the poor did not supplant the rich. But social relationships-- the way people were connected to one another-- were changed, and decisively so” (Wood 132). There was a solid relationship between higher and lower classes, and that helped maintain balance within communities, which made the new country a “giant, almost continent wide republic of nearly ten million egalitarian-minded bustling citizens who not only had thrust themselves into the vanguard of history but had fundamentally altered their society and their social relationships” (132-133).
The French Revolution is often described as the Revolution of France and developed over several decades in the mid to late 1700?s. The leadership of mid 18th century France has been described as a Monarchal King reigning by the grace God with absolute power over the people, economy, and politics of the Empire.[footnoteRef:1] The decades following the Seven Years War and King Louis? XVI quest to restore the glory of the French Empire through wars ultimately devastated the French economy. Many historians state the attempts of the King to further tax the people and subjugate the church were significant influences in the Revolution of the French. Thomas Carlyle believed that revolution and anarchy are the products of the Social Contract.[footnoteRef:2]
The French Revolution, a period of radical social and political upheaval, is often associated with the ideals of "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity," yet whether the actions of the French people during this time upheld or betrayed these principles remains a complex and contested question. The French Revolution, a pivotal moment in European history, began in 1789 and lasted until the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte in the late 1790s. It was characterized by the dismantling of traditional institutions such as the absolute monarchy and the feudal system. It was inspired by Enlightenment ideals such as popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. The Revolution's motto of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" encapsulated its guiding principles.
The French Revolution, from 1789 to 1799, was a turning point in history and created enormous change. France, for centuries, had been divided into three classes; churchmen, nobility and Peasants. The nobles and churchmen had huge wealth while ordinary people were very poor. The Monarchy did not do enough to help ordinary people and this class of people became increasingly angry with their circumstances. This eventually led to an uprising by ordinary people against
Some of the characteristics included the nobility questioning the government: fighting among the classes and oppression (Brinton). For the purpose of this paper we are only going to be looking at causes of the French revolution. One of the characteristics that a revolution is going to happen is that the country has a growing economy, but a broke
French society was defined by the the “Ancien Regime” the system of three estates (Clergy, Nobility, and Peasantry). The clergy and nobility were respected and had a higher position in society and the peasants were left to carry the country, by working farms, generating the wealth, and paying a large majority of taxes. This largely contributed to the tensions arising in 1780’s France. Meanwhile, France was engaged in the Age of Enlightenment people were demanding that church and state be separate, the King resigns and a new logic based system of government is to be established.
The actions taken against the oppression of the monarchy demonstrate that the French Revolution challenged the traditional value of social inequality to a near-full
The economy was changing and thus affecting people’s way of life as well as standard of living. However, France was a different scenario from the rest of the world, as they had just experienced the French Revolution and had not yet recovered from it. This